"Imagine a phone that could run real Remote Desktop. Real PowerShell. Anything that can run on your desktop PC. Imagine 'phablet' form factors, similar to today's Samsung Galaxy Note 2, which could dock to a desktop setup and utilize an external display, keyboard, mouse, and other peripherals. Imagine a single set of APIs that work everywhere. Imagine that Phone isn't a whole separate platform, but an app. An app that runs on Windows. Real Windows. The Windows Phone team could never make that happen. But the Windows client team? You betcha. Make it happen, Microsoft. It's time to take the phone seriously." I have never agreed with Thurrot as much as I do right now.

I think the rise of tablets is mainly due to phones being too "small and portable" to be comfortable to use. Add to them a tablet, which is too heavy and cumbersome to carry around, and you've got to get two gadgets that each are slightly useless at what they're supposed to do best. They don't actually have different uses, although the interface needs some tweaking for screen size, so why should you need two?

If tablets are too heavy and cumbersome to carry around, you must not leave your house much because I see people toting them around everywhere. And you don't think they have different uses? Phones are primarily communication devices, tablets are primarily media consumption devices... and that's pretty different. I travel often and never see people watching a movie on their cellphone, but I see it all the time with tablets. I never see people making calls with their tablet, but I see it all the time with cell phones.

I'd like to believe in your theory but my real world observations paint a totally different picture, so......